The water was cool but not cold.
“This feels so good.”
“It reminds me of running my fingers through a bowl of chocolate pudding.”
“Pudding?” Develyn questioned.
“Sure, every kid’s done that, right? It’s a tradition like chewin’ snoose on the first day of high school, or dropping a square of Jell-O in the rich girl’s gym shorts.”
“I’ve taught school over twenty years, and I’ve never heard of those.”
“I reckon you have different traditions in Indiana,” Casey mumbled. “So, what does the mud remind you of?”
“It takes me back to when I was eight. I was walking home from school after a rain storm. Dewayne …”
“Your twin brother?”
“Yes, Dewayne jumped in the puddles and tried to splash water on me. I wanted to get even, but I had on some new white tennis shoes.”
“So you pulled them off and splashed in the puddles?”
“Yes, but I liked the feel of the mud between my toes so much that I never did try to splash him. I walked all the way home barefoot, then sat on the fire hydrant to pull my shoes on, so my mom wouldn’t know.”
“But your feet were all muddy.”
“I ruined the shoe color, but my mother made me wear them all year anyway. I felt like a martyr, but it was worth it. I love this feeling. Didn’t you have times when you hiked in the mud?”
“Sure, I got bucked off on a sandbar while crossing the Yellowstone one time when I was fourteen. I had to hike to shore and spent three hours catching a horse from hell.”
“Oh, dear. I was hoping you had a more pleasant memory.”
Casey splashed a circle around Develyn. “How high can you jump?”
“What kind of question is that? I don’t jump well.”
“I can jump pretty good for a well-rounded girl,” Casey grinned. “You want to see?”
Develyn backed away. “What are you talking about?”
Casey splashed over to her. Then she leaped straight up out of the water, tucked her feet under her, then slammed them back into the creek. Water and mud sprayed all over.
“You … you … you did that on purpose!” Develyn stomped back, but only splashed water up her own jeans. She reached down and with her open hands plastered Cree-Ryder with water and mud.
Moments later, soaked with creek water and shrieking with laughter, they stopped.
“This is crazy, Casey,” Develyn hooted. “I’m a middle-aged Indiana school teacher in the middle of absolutely nowhere having a water and mud fight.”
“Where else could prim and proper Ms. Worrell have a mud fight?”
“That’s true.”
“I think you might want to clean up before you have your big weekend with Quint.”
“I need to clean up before I get back on My Maria.”
Casey took her hand. “It felt good, didn’t it?” She led Develyn to the creek bank.
“It was wonderful.”
“It seemed like a fitting exercise at Crazy Woman Creek.”
Develyn nodded. “Yes, for five minutes I didn’t have a worry in the world, except splashing water on you. Thanks, Casey. You’re a great therapist.”
“That’s me: Dr. Cree-Ryder.”
“Doctor of what?”
“Splashology.”
“I love it.”
Casey tugged her along the creek bank. “Come on, the clean water’s upstream.”
They stood in the clear water and washed their arms and legs.
“Casey, tell me what you would do about this deal with Quint.”
“Do you really like him?” Casey asked.
“I think I do.”
“What do you mean, you think you do?”
“I like him.”
“Does he like you?”
“I think … no, he does like me. He’s told me that.”
“If it was me, I wouldn’t go. Because if we like each other and that could lead to … you know, foolin’ around. It’s not that I’m all that pure and holy; it just scares the crap out of me.”
“What?”
“Dev, this is kind of hard to talk about. And I haven’t had anyone to talk to. But, when I was young I … eh, there were three of them, and they grabbed me …”
“Casey, no! Oh, no …”
“And I’ve been scared to death to get too close to a man since. That’s why all the humor and threats.” Casey’s voice softened. “I’ve wanted to be different than I am. And I believe the Lord will help me change. But I’m not there yet. I’m sorry, Dev. Why did I blurt that out?”
Develyn hugged Casey’s shoulder. “That’s alright, honey. You can talk to me.” She let out a sigh. “You’re right about one thing. You have to have someone to talk to. I should know. This has been the first summer I’ve been able to face some things about myself. And you are probably right about the trip to Powell. I shouldn’t go.”
Casey led Develyn out of the creek. “That’s not what I said. I gave you the reason that I wouldn’t go. You have more willpower and experience than I do. I mean, you were married twenty years. You know what you’re getting into. Who am I?”
“Being married twenty years only makes me old, not wise or self-disciplined. But I know what you mean. So what’s the verdict? I know I have to decide on my own. But you are a really good friend, and I respect your advice. What do you think I ought to do?”
Casey tugged on her dry jeans. “You have to decide if you want to play Barbie with Ken.”
“Is that what this is?”
“Quint wants to treat you like a Barbie doll. You are his beautiful plaything that he can dress up and pretend is his Miss Emily. He can lead you around and show you off. He wants to tell you where to go, what to do, what to think.”
“That’s … that’s … that’s not …”
Casey sat on the stump and tugged on her socks. “Not what?”
“It’s not completely true. He’s a very nice man. He still grieves for Miss Emily, but he needs to move on. Lindsay told me that. She thinks I’m just the one who can help him.”
“Would you marry him, just to help him?”
“Marry? I’m not talking about marriage.”
“Oh? You have never thought about that? You and Quint never talked about marriage?” Casey challenged.
“Only in a roundabout way. He asked me if I’d miss teaching after we were married.”
“I think that’s talking about it, alright.” Casey grinned as she pulled on her boots. “What did you tell him?”
When she stood, Develyn sat on the stump. “Something came up, and we didn’t get a chance to finish the conversation. But we will.”
“What will you tell him?”
Develyn wiped water and mud from between her toes. “I’d like to teach a few more years. It’s what I do best.”
“You mean, find a job out here? This is the boonies. Maybe you could get your pilot’s license and fly to Casper every day to teach.”
“It’s not that simple.” Develyn’s socks felt wet as she pulled her tennis shoes over them. “I’d lose all my Indiana retirement.”
“I don’t think Quint Burdett’s wife would have to worry about retirement.”
“Maybe not. But it’s a part of what gives me confidence in myself. And I need that.”
“So, you don’t want to teach in Wyoming?”
Develyn rolled down the cuffs of her wet jeans. “It’s not even that easy. Wyoming schools are not going to hire a middle-aged teacher with a master’s degree and all the credentials I have.”
“It would cost too much?”
“Sure. They could hire a twenty-three-year-old fresh out of the University of Wyoming for about half the salary.”
“So you would have to abandon teaching,” Casey shrugged. “It would be like me giving up horses, I guess.”
>
“Could you do that?” Develyn challenged as she squeezed the water out of the legs of her jeans.
“No one has ever asked. I suppose it depends on how much I needed the guy.”
“Needed?”
“If my life was incomplete, unfulfilled, headed nowhere … sounds like my life story, doesn’t it? … Anyway, if that’s the way life was … then I think I could walk away. How about you, Dev? Is your life incomplete, unfulfilled, headed nowhere?”
“This summer seemed that way. But no, I’d have to say that isn’t me.”
“Then maybe you don’t need to marry him,” Casey offered.
“If I were to marry, Quint would be the type. He’s tender, yet decisive. He’s hard-working and yet has the respect of his men. He has a solid Christian faith and a well-disciplined life. He is quite predictable … steady … dependable.”
“Dev, you do what you want, and I’ll volunteer to be in your wedding party, if you’ll have me. But it seems to me he wants to control your life. I don’t think you’d be happy with that, but what do I know? No one on earth, not even my own mother, ever wanted to control my life. Maybe it’s nice to have someone pick out your clothes, lead you around, and tell you where to shop and what to buy.”
“Quint doesn’t treat me that way … does he?”
“He’s a really nice, rich, Christian man who is a controlling kind of person. If that’s your type, you couldn’t do better. Just get used to sequined blouses and being called Miss Emily from time to time. You will have to live up to his image of you, but I think you can do it. There, I’m through. Dev, you are a special friend, and I am not the one to give you counsel. Look at me. I’m a mess. I don’t even know how you got all of that out of me. I’d let you pour a bucket of water over my head, if we had a bucket.”
“You probably made more sense than you know.”
“I did? Good, ’cause I was afraid you’d pull out your gun and shoot me.”
“I told you I’m not carrying a …” Develyn paused. “Do you really have a gun?”
“Relax,” Casey laughed. “I left mine in the truck.”
Develyn brushed her damp blond bangs back. “Do I have mud in my hair?”
“Your hair, your shirt, your face, your jeans. You look good with a little darker skin.”
“I suppose you think I’d look good with a long black braid.”
“Sweetie, you would look as absurd with a long black braid as I would with short blonde hair. We’re stuck with what we got.”
“That’s a good philosophy of life. But we do have some choices about the men in our lives.”
“That’s easy for you to say,” Casey laughed. “You have choices. I have the simplicity of not having any to choose from. You ready to ride? We barely have time to reach the rim and back so you can go on your trip.”
Develyn tightened the cinch on My Maria, shoved her left foot in the stirrup, and pulled herself up into the saddle. Her jeans felt wet, cold, and stiff against her legs. They rode straight west through scattered sagebrush toward a distant ridge.
“I’m glad we’re out here today, Casey. It’s great to get away and have time to think things through.”
“And play?”
“Yes. I’m thinking you need to move to Indiana so we can have more times like this. I need more wide-open-space think time.”
“Would you like me to move several Wyoming counties with me?”
“Do you mind?” Dev laughed.
“Or you could just move to Wyoming. I wonder if Quint would let me come visit from time to time?”
“Of course he would. Cuban, Tiny, and the boys won’t mind as long as you don’t tote guns and knives.”
“You’d think of all men on earth, that cowboys would understand a girl’s need to carry a gun. Listen, just in case you don’t marry Burdett, you should buy yourself a little place out here. Then come back every summer and unwind. Doesn’t that sound like a good idea?”
“Hmmm, you might be right. I would enjoy the peace and quiet.”
My Maria broke into a fast trot, and the buzzing sounded again.
“Is that the gas warning?” Develyn called out.
Casey loped up beside her. “It’s your cell phone, Devy-girl. What is this gas warning phobia of yours?”
Develyn fumbled in her pocket. “There can’t be any reception out here! I have to go out on my front porch to use it at home in Indiana. I’m not going to answer it.”
Casey raised her thick black eyebrows. “What if it’s Delaney?”
Develyn reined up and sighed.
Miss Dev, where are you?” The tone sounded stronger than mere inquiry.
Develyn surveyed the rolling brown prairie and matching brown burro. “Riding west from Crazy Woman Creek.” Develyn thought of Quint’s tender gray-blue eyes.
“What in the world are you doin’ out there, darlin’?”
She glanced at Cree-Ryder, who slipped to the ground and yanked on her cinch. “Casey and I went for a ride. She said there’s a …”
“Sometimes I think you let her influence you too much,” he snapped, followed by a short pause. “I’m sorry, Miss Dev. I don’t mean to be harsh. I got to missin’ you real bad.”
“That’s sweet.”
“So that’s why I flew down here.” There was an echo in his voice, as if inside a phone booth or the cab of a pickup.
“Where are you?” Develyn pulled her feet out of the stirrups and laid them alongside My Maria’s neck as Casey tightened her cinch as well.
“At your cabin in Argenta.”
She eased her feet back down. “What are you doing there?”
“Looking for you, of course.”
“Quint, I didn’t know you were coming down. I think I told you that this was a riding day for Casey and me.”
“I surmised you would go out at daylight and be back by now.”
Develyn couldn’t hold back the chuckle. “What have I ever done to give you that idea?”
“Breakin’ daylight was always Miss Emily’s favorite time to ride.”
“Schoolteachers only learn about daybreak from textbooks. But it’s a nice day for a ride. The wind hasn’t been too bad.”
“Miss Dev, here’s what I was thinkin’. We could fly up to the ranch for the afternoon and then go on up to Powell tonight for supper. Why don’t you turn that wild horse mare around right now? I’ll fly into Casper and pick us up some Chinese for lunch and be back here about the time you get in. We can grab a bite to eat while you’re rubbing her down and then head up to the ranch.”
Develyn licked her chapped lips. “Quint, we haven’t reached our destination yet.”
“Miss Dev, which would you rather see … me or more Wyoming sage?”
“Quint, this is . . eh …”
“I know it’s crazy. I feel like a teenager at times. I haven’t been this much in love since me and Miss Emily were young. I can’t believe it myself sometimes. I always thought it was a gift of the Lord to have Miss Emily. And now to find another so identical in every way. I’m double blessed, honey. Listen, I’ll go to the Imperial Dynasty and get you some Thai asparagus pork on crisp Sri Lanka noodles. Do you think Cree-Ryder is staying for lunch, or does she have somewhere to go? A you-and-me lunch sounds mighty nice right now.”
“Thanks for all the suggestions, but today is trail ride day, and I want to finish …”
“Miss Dev, you worry too much.” His voice was choppy, impatient. “You have the rest of your life to ride through Wyoming. You don’t want to see everything in the first summer. I’ll fly you out that direction one of these days. Do you think you can make it back here in an hour and a half?”
“No.” The firm tone of her own voice surprised her.
There was a long pause.
“Sorry, Quint, that came out way too harsh.”
“When will you be back?”
<
br /> “I’m not sure. I assume it will be after dark.”
“How will we make it to …”
“I appreciate the offer to go to Powell,” she interrupted. “And even the shopping with Linds in Cody. I do want to get up there someday and see the museum. But I have these riding plans today, so I’d better skip the trip this time.”
“If I hadn’t phoned, would you have left me hanging? When were you planning on telling me this?”
“I wasn’t sure how long this trip would last. Quint, I just need this ride to think some things through.”
“Honey, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing, Quint. You asked me if I’d like to go on the trip. I needed to think about it. It just doesn’t work out today. I’m sorry.”
“Something’s wrong,” he insisted. “What’s going on? If I did or said something inappropriate, you’ll have to let me know.”
“Quint, everything’s fine. You know how little I’ve gotten to ride over the years. It’s so nice to be out here. That’s why I came to Wyoming. I don’t need to shop in Cody. There’s nothing I want to buy.”
“Oh, don’t worry about the shopping. You can ride in Powell. I’ve got friends with a huge indoor arena. They could even give you some team penning lessons. You might enjoy that. You could ride all the time I’m at my meetings.”
“I would love to learn more, but we have indoor arenas in Indiana. What we don’t have is hundreds of miles of untamed prairie. It feels so good to be riding out here. Tell Lindsay I’m sorry. We’ll do the shopping thing another time.”
“No problem there. Lindsay can’t go. Some unexpected foreign dignitaries are flying into Cheyenne, and the governor wanted her to be part of the reception committee.”
“Lindsay isn’t going?”
“It can be some peaceful you-and-me time. Doesn’t it sound romantic? How about it, Miss Dev? The purdiest school teacher in Wyomin’ isn’t goin’ to turn down this lonesome cowboy, are you?”
“Oh, how I like that western drawl. You cowboys are ever so charming.”
“Then you’ll go with me?”
“No, but you are charming. Enjoy your meetings, honey. Call me when you get home.”
Stephen Bly's Horse Dreams Trilogy: Memories of a Dirt Road, the Mustang Breaker, Wish I'd Known You Tears Ago Page 24